Greed vs. Tragic Ignorance: Occupy Wall Street (102)

Every time you use Google or even Baidu, remember the following highly relevant exchange:

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Read Paul Krugman's recent piece later, if you have time. But there is an underlying moral struggle currently in America and around the world highlighted not only in Inside Job but deep inside the comfortable chambers and conscience of intelligent men and women who do not have to be Obama supporters or American patriots.

The mere fact that they've chosen not to be isolated from reality, grants them enormous advantage in appreciating that not only is there no such thing as a "self-made" man or woman if you think about it, but crucially, even while we speak of the "Middle Class", we often forget the logical inevitability: that it follows that there's such a thing as a "Lower Class" too. And assuming they sit on their hands waiting for government checks is plain stupidity. Not mere ignorance. Likewise, the ludicrous assumption and conspiracy theory that a notoriously judicious President Obama would set up such an event as if Watergate wasn't scary enough.

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This previously unpublished Blog was written before Steve Jobs died. Yes, there's a blog for that too. And in the interest of integrity, the reference to him will be kept intact. Importantly, it was written before the Occupy Wall Street movement went mainstream in America, just before going global. Or, as Jon Stewart would say, became a Hard Rock movement.

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But more seriously, America is not in the economic predicament she finds herself because of some "liberal", "socialist",Blackpresident"comrade Obama" who is "the worse ever" and should be "lynched" or "impeached". As I said before,long before Occupy Wall Street, many were concerned about corporate greed, grinding poverty, the obfuscation and legal obstruction of those in government (lawmakers in particular) as well as rich who exist to advance or maintain the status quo. But status quo? Frankly, anyone who has to ask has been living under a rock. And by choice, it must be stressed.

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It is not the tanning of America or whatever fringe elements would have you believe. Doug Edwards proved it as well, so did Warren Buffet and numerous Blogs by the author.Occupy Wall Streethappens to be a great development enhancing the author's previous concerns (think, "tragic ignorance") and the central argument ofInside Job.

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As Mary Baker Eddy writing in the 1800s would say, "the time for thinkers has come". From the diverse constituents representing the voices in New York, London, Spain, and other capitals the world over, the seismic shift in political consciousness from apathy among the youth and billionaires and millionaires was well underway before the Housing Bubble in 2007, which is where the movie above begins. And we know failure to do anything led to the current toxic uncertainty in both the U.S. and global financial climate. We also know it was aided by costs andwastagepreviously discussed— according to thebipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan—of at least $30 billionor $60 billion via wartime contracts, fraud, and oversight mismanagement, and an estimated total of under $5 trillion (and counting)on the Global War on Terror. Not to mentionrecord poverty.

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Like September 11 terror attack victims still locked in legal and health battles due to the concrete and toxic substances in their lungs, the effects of the Financial Crises following the Housing Bubble, continue. And the FHFA (the Federal Housing Finance Agency) on September 2 2011, finally got its act together and brought legal proceedings against 17 financial institutions (mentioned in the movie above) for their role in the Crisis that continues to decimate the American Middle and Lower class, States and international economies. They are:

Only the unemployed, those who conveniently like to call this "class warfare", America's covert and overt enemies, or onlyOccupy Wall Street? Certainly, nobody did when the author tested the waters here.

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Who cares when ignorance, narcissism, and insatiable appetite for rancor so abound, and people log on to the internet with the same preoccupation of a narcissist upon discovering he'son TV during a ballgame?

Sensationalism elicits no yawns, avoidance, and ignorance like this one (part of the above video) did. Not even news of threats just like the one above.And such "tragic ignorance", many would rightly call a crime. An unethical state of affairs for which conscientious citizens whatever their economic standing, cannot go blaming President Obama, under whom black unemployment is at a 27-year high, mind you.

So, as President Obama announced his $447 billion jobs and spending stimulus plan (otherwise called "The American Jobs Act") to a largely stony-faced albeit occasionally conciliatory Republican-led Congress, I thought: déjà vu. Not out of skepticism about thePresident's intentions but revisiting Clinton's Commencement (infra), how do you do that?

How do you do that when companies are sitting on trillions of cash while constantly looking for more and more tax deals/holidays the Electorate, championed by powerful Republicans, is made to believe "will" America more "job-friendly"? And we know Warren Buffett boldly and politely challenged in the last installment.

Last Summer and prior to that in 2005, former Intel chief Andy Grove made a convincing case echoed by Fareed Zakaria concerning how innovation abounds in America but then the absence of a "job-centric" environment and scaling means the shipping of the actual production and manufacturing to China and other Asian countries.

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HP meanwhile, infamously laid off 14,000 employees simultaneously as it brought in nearly $15 billion via a tax holiday scheme corporations and special interest continue to lobby hard for. (Listen and see Jesse Drucker in both video and audio clips below).

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Number don't lie. But sometimes, numbers don't tell the complete story about the greed driving the foregoing. Nevertheless, the sad footnote is that I do identify with the ethos of these companies which is why they are named in my Personal Code of Ethics.

Nevertheless, whether one is an Independent, Democrat, Republican (or well-meaningTea bagger), it is easy to see who has America's best interest at heart. And it is not a matter of political party affiliation but ratherresponsible citizenship and action, voting included.

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I believe anybody who coercively or covertlysuppressesyour right to develop, improve or be legally happy, free, or self-sufficient is more appropriately deserving of the title, "enemy" or "foe". Not friend. And that's where the tragic ignorance of many Americans begin.